


your new normal

by discranola



Category: Half-Life, Hunt Down The Freeman (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, I REALLY DONT KNOW HOW TO TAG THIS, Supernatural Elements, i would say 'the author has no regrets' but the truth is i have many, yes this is a hunt down the freeman fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24959962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/discranola/pseuds/discranola
Summary: There were plenty of men on the ship whose names he’d never even caught, why was he so worried over one just because it was slightly more important?
Kudos: 16





	your new normal

**Author's Note:**

> some things to note if anyone reads this:
> 
> "is this a fucking hunt down the freeman fanfic"  
> yes  
> "is it unironic?"  
> sadly, yes
> 
> for some god awful reason, my brain got attached to this game and i spawned this thing at 4am. i dont know if i should be ashamed or proud to be the first(?) person to write an unironic hunt down the freeman fanfiction
> 
> also, im pretty sure i got some details wrong after the fact, but its like. incredibly minor shit that only i care about

It was about two months into being stuck on the Avalon Vale that Nick started to notice something. 

Adam _avoided_ him. Not openly, of course, that was why it took him so long to notice. Usually, he’d be walking to Mitchell’s office to give him a status report and catch the two talking; and without saying anything Adam would just… slip away. Either Mitchell didn’t mind, or he didn’t notice.

Then he found out he wasn’t the only crew member of the ship that the former Black-Ops was giving a wide berth. He never directly confronted any of his underlings about it, he didn’t want to seem paranoid; but he caught snippets of gossip between the remaining Navy. 

“Hey, have you ever seen that Adam guy in the mess hall? I swear I only ever see him near the Captain’s office.”

“What does he even do? I mean… he’s close to the Captain, obviously. But he never gave us a ranking or anything. It feels weird to just call him by name.”

“Does anyone here even know his last name?”

Nick blinked as he slowly chewed on an old granola bar. That _was_ weird. He was second-in-command, he should know these things, and yet he couldn’t think of Adam’s ranking or last name. He thought of asking Adam himself but well… the man didn’t like to be tracked down, apparently. It was time to pay the Captain a visit.

-

“I… don’t know.”

Nick inhaled. “What?”

“He never told me.”

Nick slowly and deliberately dragged his hands down his face. “And you never thought to just _ask_ him? We’ve been on this ship for two months now and that thought never crossed your mind?”

“I’ve mostly been worried about my men, Nick. I don’t want another Roosevelt incident to happen.” The Captain’s expression softened before he shook his head and looked back up at his second-in-command. “I don’t get why it worries you so much, but I’ll ask him next time I see him.”

As Nick closed the office door behind him, he started to realize how _stupid_ this situation really was. There were plenty of men on the ship whose names he’d never even _caught_ , why was he so worried over one just because it was slightly more important? He knew his name, and that he used to be Black Ops before the war, and that was as much as he needed to know.

“Hey.”

The hair at the back of Nick’s neck raised, and he knew for sure if he was carrying a gun at the moment there would be a bloody hole through Adam’s head.

“Jesus _Christ_! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

Adam’s lips just raised slightly in a facsimile of a smirk as he peeled himself off the wall he was leaning against. “Heard what you were talking about with Mitch. I could just tell you my last name, you know.” 

Nick rolled his eyes. “Well, if it’s going to be _that_ easy, spit it out then.” He grumbled as he crossed his arms.

Adam slowly raised his hand to his chest and made a show out of clearing his throat. 

‘ _Does he have to be so dramatic about it_?’ Nick thought as he failed to keep a scowl off his face. ‘ _Any **normal** person would have bloody told me by n--_’

The noise hit Nick’s ears before his brain could even register it, and when it did, it _hurt_. It was like someone had superglued headphones to his head and let deafening static roar through them. Some primal part of him wanted to _run_ , escape from whatever was making the harsh noise, but his legs were held in place. Only when his vision was starting to blur and dot, and his teeth were grinding hard enough to make his jaw creak, was when the noise finally stopped.

It took all his willpower to not collapse on the floor just then, his knees nearly buckling under the weight of his too-heavy body as he gasped for breath. What _was_ that? Did the Combine find them? Did Adam hear it too?

Nick slowly eased out his breathing and regained composure, only to see Adam staring at him expectantly. “W-What…?”

Some unknown emotion flashed over Adam’s face before he settled with looking mildly disappointed. “Well? I hope you remember it. I’m not telling you again, Nick.”

As Adam wandered away, Nick had only one thought on his mind.

_Who is he?_


End file.
